"..."

The silence in the Ancient Vine Forest was only broken by Li Yi’s boisterous laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

The black-robed youth on the distant mountaintop laughed uproariously.

"This Junior Brother!" Li Yi’s voice was like a booming bell, his Battle Intent burning brightly in his eyes.

"Your Sword Art is incredibly sharp; it truly deserves the description ’astonishing talent and peerless skill.’"

He grinned, "Though I’m eager to fight you, taking advantage of someone is not the act of a true hero."

"You and I..."

He swung his great halberd, pointing it at Song Yan from afar, "We shall determine the victor on the Sword Debate Platform!"

Song Yan was stunned. He had originally thought the other party would attack quickly.

He had one hundred and sixteen Spiritual Runes on him.

Judging by the current rankings, whoever obtained his Spiritual Runes might end the Sword Wiping selection phase as the top-ranked Cultivator.

He hadn’t expected this person to value Jianghu righteousness so much.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than the Restrictions around Deer Chasing Plain officially began to close in.

This selection had officially reached its final moments.

At the same time, several streaks of spiritual light suddenly lit up around the Ancient Vine Forest.

The Cultivators who had been lurking for a long time were not just here to watch the show.

Simultaneously, at least seven or eight people suddenly burst forth, rushing in from all directions.

They had been waiting for this very moment.

Song Yan had just fought a great battle with Senior Brother Kong You, so he must have been greatly depleted.

While it would be more stable to wait, no one dared to underestimate his inherent strength. If he recovered his spiritual power, he would become another "Li Yi" whom no one could touch.

"Attack!"

Four Taiping Peak Disciples from the south of the ancient forest were the first to strike, several Talismans transforming into fire sparrows, surging towards them in an overwhelming torrent.

Song Yan frowned, about to defend, when he heard a fierce sound of air being torn apart!

"Hmph, how shameless."

Whoosh! 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

A black and red great halberd shot forth like a meteor in the night, a scarlet mist of spiritual light surging around it.

One strike of the halberd swept away all the chaotic Spells.

Boom—

The great halberd was thrust diagonally into the rocks, and a black-robed figure descended from the sky, landing steadily beside it.

He gripped and lifted it with a large hand, resting the long halberd on his shoulder.

An indescribably powerful Aura surged from his body, stopping the four people several yards away.

His gaze was disdainful, filled with disgust for despicable villains.

The four people looked at each other, now in a dilemma.

Li Yi, however, did not give them a chance to think.

The black and red figure moved like lightning, heading straight for the four.

The great halberd swept out abruptly, its blade emitting dazzling scarlet light.

The four people’s protective Spiritual Qi shattered in response.

He clenched his large hand, grabbing the Jade Tablet of the leader, then lifted his foot and forcefully kicked him in the chest.

Crack.

The Spiritual Rune Jade Tablet was forcibly torn off, a flash of white light, and the person disappeared.

To outsiders, it looked as if Li Yi had... kicked him out of the Blessed Realm.

The remaining three had no room to resist and were eliminated by him one by one.

"If you don’t dare to fight honorably, what good is it even if you win some minor competition?"

"Heh..."

He sneered, "Mediocre."

He looked back.

He saw three afterimages dart out from the area closest to Song Yan, their hands flashing with the spiritual light of Spells, closing in.

One of them moved with such Weird (guǐ jué - cunning/devious) footwork that he transformed into three afterimages, attacking simultaneously.

On the other side, a Zuowang Peak Disciple even conjured a black flying shuttle Spiritual Artifact, its dark light surging as it flew straight towards them!

Endless.

Li Yi snorted coldly, about to step forward.

But his steps halted.

Song Yan’s previously closed eyes suddenly opened, and a golden glow burst forth from his pupils.

Insightful Void Sword Eye.

At this moment, the trajectory of the dark flying shuttle, the true body of the afterimages, and even the slowly converging spiritual power flow in one person’s hand... everything was perfectly clear within the Insightful Void Sword Eye.

Song Yan gently raised his sword finger, and another cyan-purple Flying Sword flew out from his sword scabbard, along with the Unmoored Boat.

Buzz—

The black and white Sword Qi was as fast as a Dragon, and the dark black flying shuttle was split in two. The Cultivator’s body suddenly stiffened, a sharp pain in his Divine Sense causing a moment of disorientation.

Lianli casually swept past, cutting off the Jade Tablet at his waist.

"He still has strength left?"

And he was wielding two Flying Swords simultaneously!

The Shadow Cultivator was horrified, but with the arrow already on the string, he had no choice but to release it. He had already closed in on Song Yan’s side.

He stretched out his palm, a purple light appearing on his fingertips, and actually tore open Song Yan’s protective Spiritual Qi with his bare hands.

Ha!

The Shadow Cultivator’s heart pounded, his fingertips about to touch the Jade Tablet at Song Yan’s waist.

Over a hundred Spiritual Runes!

What kind of Genius or prodigy, wasn’t he still taken down by me?

But this thought had just arisen when it was extinguished.

Song Yan’s figure strangely shifted back a few inches, then Sword Qi surged, and a sharp blade pushed him back several yards.

Before he could stabilize himself, the black and white Flying Sword, flashing with cold light, had already arrived.

He felt a fierce wind brush past, and looking down, saw that the Jade Tablet at his waist had already been swept away by the Sword Qi.

Clink, a soft sound.

Two Jade Tablets simultaneously fell into Song Yan’s palm.

As the Spiritual Runes circulated, his number had changed to "one hundred and fifty-two."

Facing the black and white Flying Sword, the Shadow Cultivator finally understood why Senior Brother Kong You had "suddenly" lost.

Now it seemed that Senior Brother Senior Brother Kong You had merely forced out the opponent’s true abilities.

That was all.

A flash of white light, and he disappeared.

"Good!" Li Yi’s eyes showed even more pleasant surprise. He leaned on his halberd and laughed, "Only someone like this is worthy of being my, Li, opponent."

The golden light in his eyes slowly receded, and the two swords circled around him like swimming fish.

He looked at the black-robed youth in the distance, about to exchange a few polite words.

But he saw that the surrounding Cultivators were slowly being pushed inward by the Restrictions, and in desperation, most chose to attack him.

"Very well!"

Li Yi lifted his great halberd and flew forward.

"Junior Brother, please recover a bit. I have seen many of your techniques during the previous great battle."

"However, you have not seen my fighting style. In that case, even if I were to defeat you, it would be unfair."

"Just watch closely!"

He let out a long cry, and the black and red great halberd swept out, scarlet spiritual light surging like a tide across the entire Ancient Vine Forest.

Cultivators in its path retreated one after another, not a single one able to withstand its edge.

Li Yi laughed as he sent a Taiping Peak Disciple, along with his Spiritual Artifact, flying, and casually snatched the opponent’s waist token.

The Disciple was teleported out of the game while still in the air, without even time to let out a scream.

Xiao He, coiled on Gu Qingqing’s shoulder, her emerald snake eyes fixed on the battlefield.

Whenever a Cultivator was sent flying by Li Yi’s residual power, she would dart out like lightning, her snake tail coiling around the scattered spiritual tokens and bringing them back.

The Spiritual Runes she obtained, of course, were counted towards Song Yan.

Some people also discovered Gu Qingqing’s location and attacked her.

Xiao He accepted them all.

As the range of the Restrictions grew smaller and smaller, the battle situation changed rapidly.

Song Yan watched Li Yi’s battle.

But in reality, he gained nothing.

Because the opponent was entirely relying on incredibly powerful spiritual power, heavy and forceful halberd techniques, and that mysterious Aura... to sweep through the entire Ancient Vine Forest, clearing out the disorganized Disciples.